Belgium Endive, Fennel, Gorgonzola Cheese, and Pear Salad: Pretty for Parties

I love the colors and textures in this Belgium Endive Fennel and Pear Salad recipe featured below. It’s creative and artful looking but is also a healthy and delightful dish that’s easy to make. The salad is mixed with pears, walnuts, and tangy Gorgonzola cheese  A very simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing with a little Dijon mustard top it off.

Enjoy this recipe!

Belgium Endive Fennel and Pear Salad

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski

A beautiful and artful salad, that will stand out at any potluck.

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Course Salad

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 3 Belgium Endive combo of red and white or substitute radicchio
• 1 medium fennel bulb
• 2 small pears ripe red pears add color
• 1/4 cup walnuts pieces
• 1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbled
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Cut off the bottoms of the Belgium Endive and separate into leaves If you are using radicchio, break into smaller leaves.
• Wash the leaves and pat dry with paper towels and set aside
• Remove the long stalks and bruised outer leaves of the fennel and trim the stem end. Wash and dry the fennel bulb and slice it across the bulb as thinly as possible. Lay the endive and fennel leaves decoratively on a plate or salad bowl.
• Wash and slice the pears thinly. Add to the salad plate or bowl.
• Sprinkle the plate with the walnut pieces and crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese
• Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Serve on the side or drizzle on top of the salad.

Belgium Endive separated into leaves, is a decorative and fun way to serve dips and appetizers because you can use the leaves as little plates. If you prefer, you can also cut the endive into strips for smaller bites.

Crunchy fennel is a vegetable I love using in salads. If you haven’t tried it before, it has a slight licorice flavor. Fennel has many nutritional benefits that help prevent and soothe indigestion, gas, anemia, respiratory disorders, eye problems, and more. It’s a natural detox vegetable.

Who doesn’t love the sweet taste of fresh pears? Pears are easily digested anti-oxidant rich, and anti-inflammatory. They are members of the rose family, Rosaceae, which includes, apples, apricots, cherries, chokeberries, crabapples, loquats, peaches, plums, quinces, raspberries, strawberries, and almonds. All of them help prevent esophageal cancer. Pears are also high in fiber and will lower the risk of colorectal and stomach cancers.

You can find fresh pears in a variety of colors and flavors, depending on where you live. You might want to try several types of pears in this salad for more color. Choose from varieties such as Bartletts, Bosc, Comice, Concorde, Forelle, Green Anjou, Red Anjou, Red Bartlett, Seckel, and Starkrimson.

Find salad bowls on Amazon, here.

I think this salad is pretty enough to use for holidays and special occasions. What do you think? Please leave a comment below.